


Gorgeous

by honestgrins



Series: To Rely on the Kindness of Strangers [72]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Caroline Goes To NOLA, Enzo tags along, F/M, Post-TVD S5, because that’s what he does
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-07-10 18:58:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15955496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestgrins/pseuds/honestgrins
Summary: Prompt: Caroline goes to NOLA with Enzo, and they get invited to some fancy dinner party. Klaus gets all jealous.





	Gorgeous

"What's a beautiful vamp like you doing in my town?"

Caroline was halfway to a scoff at the terrible line, only to catch her breath at the very, _very_  handsome man saying it. At least, until she processed what he said. Her eyes tracked the line of him suspiciously. "How'd you know I'm a vampire?"

Nodding toward her hand clutching a hurricane glass, he smirked at the obvious twitch in her finger. "Lapis lazuli doesn't come easy around here, I make sure of it. May I ask where you got yours?"

"An old friend," she answered simply, not wanting to give any more ammunition to what felt like an old soul. Before she could figure out just how old, a heavy arm fell onto her shoulders.

Enzo smirked down at her annoyed expression. "Gorgeous, did I ever tell you about the witches I fell in with? This was right before Augustine trapped, and it bothered them quite handily for the first decade or so why I didn't burn in the sun. When one of the bastards figured it out, I made sure he lost a hand for taking my ring." He glanced toward the stranger, his smile just a bit tighter than Caroline was used to. "Hello, mate. Has anyone told you how nosy you can be?"

The man held up defensive hands, his smile bright with a false ease. "Chalk it up to old habits, I look out for my people. Strange vampires usually mean trouble."

"Are we strange, Gorgeous?"

"You are, maybe." Rolling her eyes, Caroline shrugged Enzo off her. "But I can agree that we are strangers. I'm Caroline, this is Enzo. We're just passing through town, figuring out our next steps."

Leaving Mystic Falls had been a difficult decision to make, but once she made it, Caroline had her car packed within the hour. It wouldn't be forever because she needed to keep up with her mom, she just needed a fresh start at her eternity. "Magically prevented from entering her hometown" seemed like as good a reason as any.

Enzo was a surprise, though not an unwelcome one. She always thought it'd be Bonnie in her passenger seat when she finally got up the courage to leave her childhood behind, and god, she missed her best friend so much. Stefan was supposedly trying to get her and Damon back, Alaric working on the border issue...and Caroline was tired. Whether it was a vacation, sabbatical, or just a new life, she needed to get away. Inviting himself along, Enzo made the hours of driving fun. No adventure was too small, no diner too greasy. 

He also lacked a certain judgmental streak when she mentioned a brief visit to the Big Easy, just to see the sights. Despite a knowing disbelief in her flimsy excuse, Enzo just leaned forward to fiddle with the radio. He kept his pointed comments about her romantic life - or lack thereof - to a minimum, and even then, there was an affectionate teasing to his tone. Taking that as passive support for her plan, Caroline allowed herself to feel a tiny bit of excitement.

Because New Orleans, she found, was _fun_. Music could be heard all throughout the touristy areas, people happily dancing in the street. She and Enzo gleefully ducked through the shops, both cute ones and those of a naughtier variety. There were food vendors everywhere, each bite spicier than the last. Only one bowl of gumbo made her vampire eyes water, but she looked forward to testing even her expanded capabilities.

Somehow, the magic floating through the city made her want to let the monster loose, to relax the tight control that had become second nature to maintaining her human facade. As night fell, Caroline grew more aware of other vampires enjoying a similar freedom. She pulled Enzo with her as they followed some of the crowd to a bar, apparently a common enough haunt for Marcel to keep an eye out for newcomers.

He looked over them both warily, though his charming smile never dropped. “Do you know anyone in town? I’d be happy to introduce you to some friends, they would love to know more about your visit.”

Sensing an ever so slight murder vibe, Caroline figured mentioning a certain hybrid could go very poorly, very fast. But she didn’t like the implied obligation behind his offer, either. “No one is expecting us,” she admitted, hoping he wouldn’t get the chance to realize the small fib of omission. “I’m always up to meet new people. Enzo?”

“Lead the way, mate.” He gestured for Marcel to go first before helping Caroline hop off her stool, keeping her close out of suspicion. That was something they had in common, she’d realized over their road trip, loyalty was too easy for them both. Their fall into friendship was still new but no less absolute, he was Caroline’s person and she was his. If Marcel thought to test that, he would have a nasty lesson to learn. “And where are these royal friends of yours that care about two measly vamps?”

Caroline elbowed him as they walked down a spookily quiet street, the dark no longer comforting; instead, it had her monster on edge.

But Marcel laughed. “They certainly think of themselves as royalty, and they’re hosting something of a family dinner.”

“I would hate to interrupt,” Caroline said, having stopped dead on the sidewalk. She had a feeling whose house they were going to intrude upon, and she was nowhere prepared for that. This trip was supposed to be a whim, to get a peek at what that voicemail had promised. Eat some beignets, take in a haunted tour, then call _him_ for a night to dance and drink and enjoy their banter before she jumped on a plane to see everything else in the world. Another promise he’d made, she would have argued if he tried to get her to stay. _If_.

It all sounded so good in her head, but Marcel was opening the gate to some creepy compound lit with a bunch of ancient-looking candles. 

“Someone forgot to pay the electric bill,” Enzo teased, surprised when Caroline remained far too quiet.

At his concerned look, she just shook her head. “No, they’re just dramatic.”

Marcel’s head whipped around, though it was the sudden displacement of air coming from elsewhere that held her attention. Her eyes could barely track his approach, moving too fast for her mere vampire senses. Still, she knew better than to flinch when he finally appeared just inches from her, dimples cut deep into his cheeks. “Hello, Klaus.”

For a moment, it was like they were too focused taking each other in to see what might have changed since they last saw each other. Then a familiar glint in his eye as he smirked sent her right back to that forest floor and the remnants of a pretty pink lace bra. She blushed, looking away first, and Klaus puffed his chest in triumph. "Sweetheart, what a pleasant surprise," he greeted smoothly, the warmth in his eyes bleeding out when he turned a dangerously curious gaze on Enzo. "I don't believe we've met, mate."

Ignoring the crisp accusation and immediate dislike rolling off the hybrid in waves, Enzo pulled Caroline closer just to make things interesting. "Gorgeous is something like my girl Friday lately, a real partner in crime," he explained in a cheery voice. "So, how do you two know each other?"

Caroline dug an elbow into his side, though she refused to cower under Klaus's angry expression at their proximity, even if a thrill of pleasure shot down her spine at the obvious display of jealousy. Pettiness might not be pretty, but she had learned to accept that about herself. "Freshman year wasn't all I'd hoped it would be," she explained as lightly as she could manage through the memories. "Anti-vampire society, doppelganger drama, everyone died then came back-"

"Thanks again for the save, Gorgeous," Enzo chimed in, enjoying how Klaus's face pinched in annoyance.

Rolling her eyes, Caroline couldn't help a small smile when he looked to her with concern. "Long story short, I can't go back to Whitmore or Mystic Falls."

"Mystic Falls?" Marcel looked positively gleeful, and she watched in confusion as Klaus pressed his lips together, his ears flushed the deepest red. "Something about that place always seems to make him grin like a fool," he explained, turning to Caroline and Enzo. "I think I'm beginning to understand why."

"Sorry, she likes them a bit furry," Enzo said with a cheeky grin. He let out a soft _oomph_  at the harder jab from her elbow, though it didn't seem to dampen his mood. "One wolf is a mistake, two is a fetish, Gorgeous. It's just not healthy, a death wish to get your jollies."

Klaus flashed toward him and pressed him to the wall by the neck. "It's a good thing my blood is the cure to wolf venom, then." Caroline had expected him to snarl, but his voice was perfectly calm and even courteous in a sense. "You seem to be the one with a death wish, given your flippant regard for certain intimacies that don't involve you."

Enzo regarded him through narrowed eyes, not at all appearing to care that his life was in mortal danger. _Immortal danger?_  The whole vampire vernacular was something Caroline still had to get used to, thanks to her mostly sheltered, unique experience back home. It was a particular goal she hoped to accomplish during this first world tour, provided she got Enzo out of New Orleans alive. "See what I mean?" she sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Dramatic. This has been fun, but-"

"Honestly, Caroline, you should have known better than to show up here with some Salvatore knock-off expecting Nik not to tear his head off." Rebekah strode into the room, heels clacking on the brick with each step. "Now take your little friend and leave, you're not invited to dinner. Marcel, show them out, please."

Caroline's jaw ached with the tension required not to snap at the other woman and her imperious attitude. Of course, Klaus had yet to move an inch while Enzo just smiled in that easygoing way of his. "Trust me, Rebekah," she sighed, pressing her hands to her face. "This isn't how I hoped to be spending my evening either. I wasn't going to call until-"

And in an instant, Klaus had dropped Enzo from the wall to flash before her with that predator look about him. A possessive gold ringed his pupils. "Until?"

Swallowing at the intense focus he seemed to have only for her, Caroline shook her head. "I wanted to explore a little bit," she explained in a shaky voice. "You know, see the city myself before I let you try to sell its good qualities."

His mouth pulled up into an indulgent smile, like she'd fallen into his meticulously laid trap. "I look forward to hearing your thoughts on New Orleans, love, to know your mind in all things. But I take issue with the idea that I might try to sell you a false image of the city when I think you'd enjoy it despite its more sinister tendencies. I have a feeling you'll come to love those as well, in time."

"She's got rules against eating people, mate," Enzo helpfully supplied, having worked himself up to leaning against the wall on his own accord. "If you can get her to loosen up on that front, I'll be your biggest- What was the word, Gorgeous? When you tried to set up your dear friend Matt to date anyone other than Elena?"

Eyes wide, she wondered if she could actually learn how to kill with a glare alone. "You are _not_ ," she fumed, "going to be Klaus's wingman when it comes to me."

"Like he needs one," Rebekah scoffed, making a sour face. "She's already fascinated. No taste, that one."

Enzo shrugged. "She didn't go for me, so I'm inclined to agree. But she kept me on as a friend, which means you don't get to talk about her that way."

Arms crossed and veins just beginning to show, Rebekah looked ready to kill while Marcel watched the show with a sense of amusement and alarm in case things got bloody.

Klaus smirked, hardly paying them any attention. He gently tugged at a curl hanging loose on her shoulder. "Have you seen much of the city yet, sweetheart? Your plans aside, there are some hidden gems I think you'd like to see."

"I'm not staying," Caroline blurted out, needing him to hear it once before he had a chance to talk her out of it. At his hurt expression, though, she felt the need to continue, "I'm going to see the world, and I'm excited about it. Enzo kind of invited himself along, but I like the company and he spent like sixty years in a cell getting tortured, probably deserves the vacation. Anyway, we still don't know where we're going first, maybe we'll leave when we figure it out. I'm leaning toward India, but he likes South America."

Smiling, Klaus seemed almost enchanted by her rambling. His plain enjoyment of her habits was something she never thought she would get used to. "You came here first."

"Don't get a big head about it," she said with a roll of her eyes. "I might be willing to accept suggestions and warnings about certain locations, figured you would be a good brain to pick. You're never short of opinions."

Klaus looked up with that infinitely smug grin of his. "Happy to be of service in any way I can. I may have a list or two for you, but only once you've decided upon a starting point. I'd hate to influence this trip of yours, if I'm already not to be trusted in my own city."

Watching Rebekah and Enzo bicker with each other, Caroline met his gaze once again with a little more confidence. “Show me you can be trusted,” she challenged, her hips twirling just a bit in a tease. “I haven’t had a chance to find a beignet yet.”

Somehow, his grin widened further to show off his dimples in earnest and said, “It would be my pleasure.” Raising his elbow, Klaus waited patiently until she slid her hand into the crook of his arm with an amused, though resigned sigh. As he led her out of the compound, he couldn’t help pressing his luck. “Now, tell me all about this freshman year that finally pushed you out of the nest of the human life you were chasing.”

“Ugh,” Caroline groaned. “Where do I even start?”

Klaus didn’t care, he was just thrilled that she was there at all.


End file.
